It is no secret that the use of robotics and automation can significantly boost productivity for manufacturing companies and support with dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks. Despite this, the UK is lagging in its adoption of these technologies, standing at only 25th in the global league table for robot density per 10,000 workers as of 2023, having fallen from 24th position in 2022 . Given the abundance of Small or Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the UK, one of the key issues is that many find it difficult to identify opportunities to integrate automation or are reluctant to invest due to concerns over technical risk, a lack of internal skills to handle new technologies, high initial setup costs and long payback periods. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for automation technology have been developing ways of overcoming these challenges, with particular interest in “cobots” growing rapidly since their introduction to the